Method of attaching spouts to containers



Feb.'25, 1936. w. F. LEONHART 2,031,833

METHOD OF ATTACHING SPOUTS TO CONTAINERS Filed Ailg. 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HA5 flTTORNE/S.

atented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF ATTACHING SPOUTS 1'0 CONTAINERS William F. Leonhart, St. Louis County, Mo.

Application August 27, 1934, Serial No. 741,800

Claims.

count of the difliculty of making such seam tight without soldering. The principal object of the present invention is to devise a process whereby a spout can be flrmly attached to the can or container without the use of solder and with a seam that is strong, water-tight, simple and inexpensive to make.

The invention consists principally in forming the can metal into a continuous outstanding flange surrounding the spout hole, forming an end of the pouring spout into'a. hollow head with an. annular clearance space between the bead and the wall of the spout and adapted to receive the end of said flange and then assembling said parts by entering said flange in said clearance space and curling said flange'in said head and clamping them together to form a tight seam.

It further consists in so proportioning the parts that are to be interlocked and so holding them during assemblythat the peripheral portion of the container flange will contact edgewise with the metal of the nozzle at the line whereon such metal is folded in the seam and so that the periphery of the nozzle metal will bear edgewise against the metal of the container at the line where the can metal is folded in the seam. The invention also consists in the operations and details hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a can equipped with a pouring spout,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the spout and the adjacent portion of the can to which it is attached,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating the initial relative position of the pouring spout and can top in the operation of assembly,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the spout and can top positioned in the die with the punch ready to begin its downward stroke; and

Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are detail views illustrating successive stages in the operation of the punch with the work parts in successive stages of assembly.

- The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention as applied to the mounting of a pouring spout i on an ordinary flat-topped can or con-- tainer 2. In the present instance, the pouring spout I is shown in the form of a screw-threaded tubular member, commonly called a screw base, that is adapted to receive a screw-threaded closure. Heretofore it has been the usual practice to flange one end of the screw base and solder the flange flatwise against the top or end or 5 Other flat portion of the can, notwithstanding thecost of soldering and the recognized fact that the heat required for soldering is liable to impair the adjacent top seam and the tin coating of the can.

According to the present method, one end of the spout or screw base is curled into a hollow bead 3 with an annular gap or clearance space 4 between the edge of the curled metal and the side wall of the spout. This gap 4 is intended to receive a flange 5 formed on the end of the can around the pouring hole and accordingly the width of the gap is substantially equal to the thickness of the metal of said can end. The end portion 8 of the spout adjacent to the curl thereof is flared outwardly to facilitate the assembling operation, as more fully described hereinafter; and the outside'diameter of the conical or flared surface 6 of the spout about midway of the ends thereof is substantially equal to the inside diameter of the end of the flange 5 in the can top hereinafter mentioned.

The top or end of the can is substantially flat or is provided with a flat panel in which is located the .pouring hole. According to the present invention, the top or end of the can is provided with an integral flange 5 next to the pouring hole and extending along the periphery thereof. This flange is located on the inner face of the end of the can and is of cylindrical form and of a depth that may readily be produced by drawings. This flange is designed to cooperate with the hollow head 3 on the spout for the purpose of forming a tight seam and the length of the flange is determined accordingly; so that, when the flange is folded back parallel with the end surface of the can. the periphery of the flange will bear edgewise against the flattened head that encloses it and at the same time the peripheral portion of the flattened bead will bear edgewise against the metal of the cam end along the line of folding of its flange.

After the end of the can is provided with a flanged pouring hole as above described and the spout is flared and headed as above described, they are assembled by means of a seaming die. This seaming die comprises a die proper I and a punch 8 therefor. The die has a central hole 9 of substantially the same diameter as the inside diameter of the flanged spout hole. In the -whose inner edge is spaced outwardly from the main bore little more than the thickness of the metal being worked, thus forming a narrow annular rib II. In cross-section, the bottom of this recess is not a circular arc but has its deepest point in the outer half thereof. The punch 8 comprises a tapered pilot portion l2 adapted to enter the nozzle or screw base and terminating in an annular concave recess l3 adapted to cooperate with the recess in the face of the die. In cross-section, the bottom of the concave recess H of the punch is not a circular arc, but is deepest in the inner half thereof. The outer margin of the punch recess is bordered by an annular rib M or projection from the main face of the punch, the outside diameter of said rib-being slightly less than the outside diameter of the recess in the face of the die.

The operation of assembling the parts is as follows: The can end is laid flatwise on a, die with its flange projecting upwardly. The spout is thendropped or placed with its small end foremost in the pouring opening and assumes a position in which the flared or conical surface of the spout rests on the upper edge of the flange. Then a punch, which is operated by a suitable press, moves downwardly to effect the assembly of the spout with the end of the can.

The first operation of thedie is to force the spout downwardly with the result that the conical or flaring portion of the spout acts after the manner of a wedge to flare the flange and initiate the curling thereof. Further downward movement of the plunger brings more and more of the bead of the spout into contact with the edge of the flange, which is thereby curled along the inner surface of the bead of the spout until its peripheral edge is substantially in the plane of the axis of the bead. With the work in this condition, the punch continues its downward movement until the work is pressed home. In this last stage of the operation, the metal of the spout bead is folded substantially in the plane of the largest diameter of the cross-section of the bead and flattened against opposite sides of the intervening flange of the can end. The same operatlon flattens said flange and leaves the respective wide surfaces of the flange in contact with the,

flattened surfaces of the spout head that encloses it.

It is important to have the periphery of the flange metal abut edgewise against the bend or bottom of the flattened groove of the spout. For this reason, the punch is provided with the annular rib of sufficient height to furnish lateral support very slightly beyond the head so that, when the head is flattened, such rib will limit the radial spreading thereof in an outward direction and thereby assure edgewise contact of the flange with the bottom of the loop or line of bending with the bead. Likewise, the die is formed with the annular rib at the inner margin of the main recess substantially in alinement with the flange of the can end and with its end surface about flush with the shoulder of the die. By this arrangement, the annular rib of the die affords lateral support for the flangeon the can end and limits inward movement thereof during the process of bending it flat with the result of assuring edgewise contact of the head with the bottom of the bend or loop formed in the can end. As the punch is driven home, while both the bead and the flange are held against lateral movement, the die space is completely fllled by the interlocking metal and a very tight seam is produced with the interlocking parts engaging both flatwise and edgewise. This operation is more effective by reason of the annular recess in the die being deepest slightly inwardly from the rib of the punch and the annular recess in the punch being deepest slightly inwardly from the rib of the die.

While the foregoing description treats the method of assembly as if there were various operations, it is to be understood that the downward movement of the punch is continuous and rapid and that the various operations follow continuously and in succession. Likewise, while the members of the seam are referred to as flattened, it is meant that they are forced together flatwise with suflicient pressure to kill the metal and cause lapping parts to remain in contact flatwise, this pressure usually causing a slight but noticeable plastic flow of the metal along the lines of folding.

The method above described entirely dispenses with the operation of soldering the spout and thereby not only saves the solder but avoids the danger of impairing the soldered, cemented or doped end and body seams used in the manufacture of the cans and produces a very tight joint that is substantially free from injury due to strain on the nozzle. With soldered seams, both lateral and axial strains on the nozzle tend to separate the members of a flat seam in an axial direction; but such strains are ineffective with respect to the edgewise contact of the interlocking members of the seam hereinbefore described.

My process also has the advantage of being more rapid and in requiring less expensive apparatus than soldered seams.

What I claim is:

1. The method of attaching spouts to metal containers which consists in supplying a spout with one end flared and curled back close to the flared portion thereof and a flat container part having an opening and a flange around said opening of substantially equal diameter with the flared portion of the spout, placing said spout in said opening with its flared portion against the edge of said flange, moving said spout axially relatively to said container part to curl said flange over the flared and curled end of said spout to form an interlocking seam and then compressing said seam.

2. The method of attaching spouts to metal containers which consists in supplying a spout with one end flared and curled back close to the flared portion thereof and a container part having an opening and a flange around said opening of substantially equal diameter with the flared portion of the spout, placing said spout in said opening with its flared portion against the edge of said flange, moving said spout axially relatively to said container part to curl said flange over the flared and curled end of said spout to form an interlocking seam and then compressing said seam in an axial direction while restraining outward radial movement of the curled portion of the spout. I

3. The method of attaching spouts to metal containers which consists in supplying a spout with one end flared and curled back close to the flared portion thereof and a flat'container part having an opening and a flange around said openovertheflaredandcurledendofsaidspoutto form an interlockingseam without substantially changing the curled end or the spout and then compressing said seam while restraining the curled portion of the spout from movement outwardly and restraining the curled portion of the flange from movement in J 4. The method oi attaching spouts to metal containers which consists in forming a spout with an end flared and curled back in a hollow bead whose edge is separated from the flared portion by a narrow annular gap, forming a flat container part with a hole having a marginal cylindrical flange adapted to flt around the body portion of the spout andnof a height substantially equal to one-halt the cross-sectional circumference of said hollow bead, placing said spout in said hole with its flared portion against the edge of said flange, moving said spout axially relatively to said container part to curl said flange inside said bead until the edge oi said flange lies substantially in the plane of the axis of the still hollow bead, and then flattening the curled portion of the spout and the flange curled therein by axial I compression.

5. The method of attaching p uts to metal containers which consists in forming a spout with an end. flared and curled back in ahollow bead whose edge is separated from the flared portion by a narrow annular gap, forming a flat container part with a hole having a marginal cylindrical flange adapted to fit around the body portion at the spout and of a height substantially equal to one-half the cross-sectional circumference of said hollow bead, placing said spout in said hole with its flared portion against the edge of said flange, moving said spout axially relatively to said container part to curl said flange inside said bead until the edge or said flange lies substantially in the plane 01 the axis of the still hollow bead, and then flattening the hollow head portion of the spout and the flange curled therein by axial compression while restraining radial movement at the lines 01 folding.

WILLIAM 1 LEONHART. 

